“Well, human lifespans are so very short. And if you were a sanguinato, you’d live as long as me.”
“I’ll take the bait,” I said, when Cole just let that hang there without explanation. “What the hell is a sanguine-whatever?”
“Sanguinato,” Cole corrected. “When a human regularly consumes vampire blood, they stop aging. They get stronger, they heal faster, and they never get sick. I’d be very upset if you died. It’s not allowed.”
“Well, I’m not planning on dying anytime soon.”
“Of course you aren’tplanningon it. Who does? But you’re, what, thirty?”
“Thirty-two. That’s not old.”
“But that means you could have as few as sixty years left!”
“Wouldn’t that be nice?”
“Human lives are far too short. I’ll talk sense into you, eventually.” Which was rich, coming from him. Then, too innocently, he added, “And if you wound up happily married at the same time, I wouldn’t complain.”
“I might have liked it better when you were a serial killer.”
He laughed at that. And then, out of nowhere, he added, “And why haven’t you been sleeping?”
I hesitated.
After all, I hadn’t told anyone—including Cole—about the dreams.
The dreams had started the same night I’d met Reed and they hadn’t stopped since.
They were almost always the same. I was in a town I didn’t recognize and somehow always knew Reed was nearby. I could sense his presence, even if I never saw him.
Until last night, of course.
The sound of his whimper had broken my heart.
Even in wolf form, it had carried a human note of despair. Of suffering.
And when I saw him in that alleyway, I would’ve done anything to comfort him. Then the dream ended so abruptly it left me gasping, bereft and cold in my bed.
Had Reed really left such an impression on me?
Yeah. Crazy as it was, he had.
It didn’t make sense. And it made me sound like a total psycho. Which is why I hadn’t talked about it. Maybe I was cracking up. Hell, maybe Davis was right to suspend me.
“Don’t make me hypnotize you, detective.”
“You’re a thousand miles away.”
But I couldn’t quite keep the accusatory note out of my voice. Weird, since there was a time when I would have been relieved for him to be gone.
“Easily remedied. You might as well save me the effort. Who knows what kind of trouble I could get into in Los Angeles if I came back. After all, it’s a very… delectable… city.”
“You’re reformed, remember?”
He huffed, giving up the schtick. “Harris, talk to me. You helped me when I needed it. Stop being difficult and let me do the same for you.”
“Fine,” I said gruffly. “But remember that you asked for it. And if you give me shit about it, I’ll make sure you get real close and personal with a wooden stake.”
“Come now, detective. I think our relationship has transcended the need for death threats, don’t you?”
